


Safe Harbor

by Revasnaslan



Series: Sunflowers and Lavender [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-06 22:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11045841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revasnaslan/pseuds/Revasnaslan
Summary: It’s lonely in space. Hunk isn’t used to being alone. Shiro’s been out here for a long time, but the ache never goes away. Maybe they can learn to be each other’s safe harbor.





	1. The Bridge

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Akumeoi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akumeoi/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was originally supposed to be for shunk week and then i got a bad case of writer's block so it's getting posted a lil late...

Going up to the bridge in the middle of the night—or what passed for night on this ship—was not something that Shiro did all that often. Normally, if he was having trouble sleeping, he would go to the training deck and go a few rounds with the sparring sentinel. It helped relax his mind to move through the motions like that. Nowadays, he always felt on edge if he didn’t get his daily sparring quota in, and nothing else would help. Tonight, however, his feet took him up to the bridge, as if staring out towards the void of space would help him get through whatever was on his mind…

He had not expected to find Hunk sitting up there though, still decked out in his pajamas with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The ambient lights had dimmed very low, so the only light on the bridge came from a nearby star. It cast a pale, blue-gray glow across the floor—the contrast was striking between the deep, dark shadows and the soft light illuminating Hunk’s face.

Shiro cleared his throat in an attempt to announce his presence without startling Hunk. “What are you doing up this late, Hunk?” he asked, crossing the bridge to sit beside Hunk on the stairs.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Hunk said, voice little more than a soft mumble as he tugged his blanket more tightly around himself.

Shiro’s brow furrowed in concern. “Something on your mind?”

Hunk hesitated for a moment, shifting awkwardly on the step, fiddling with the fraying edge of the blanket. “Really, Shiro—it’s _fine_ —” he said haltingly, “You don’t have to worry—”

“Well, I’m going to worry anyway,” Shiro said firmly as he leaned forward and rested his forearms over his knees. “Now, what’s wrong? I’ll keep it confidential, I swear.”

“I—It’s just…” Hunk said, frowning when he appeared to be failing to properly word his feelings. “It’s _different_ out here, I guess.”

Shiro was unsurprised that Hunk was feeling homesick—it was something that couldn’t be helped, given their circumstances. It was _very_ difficult to replicate the feeling of being back on Earth—their _home_ , where their families were, probably worried out of their minds or beside themselves in grief.

Shiro knew the feeling of hopelessness all too well. For the longest time, he had thought he’d never see Earth again.

“How so?” he finally asked, tilting his head as he regarded Hunk with concern.

“Well, just—even back at the Garrison, we sometimes had _rain_ … or—or _something_ —” Hunk began, stumbling over his words. “It just feels… empty out here… it’s too quiet.”

“Yeah, space tends to be like that,” Shiro joked, trying to draw a smile out of the other paladin.

Hunk managed a tiny one, and the tension in his shoulders eased somewhat. “Are you used to it, since you’ve been out here a long time?” he asked. His eyes widened a moment later as he seemed to realize the implication, and he quickly began trying to apologize. “Sorry, that was probably a little insensitive! Since—since you didn’t exactly have much of a choice to be out here—I mean, for as long as it turned out and—”

“Hunk, it’s fine,” Shiro assured him, reaching out to rest a hand on Hunk’s shoulder before giving it a comforting squeeze. “I was an astronaut for a couple of months before all that… other stuff happened, remember? So, to answer your question, I suppose I am used to it. Being out here doesn’t bother me all that much anymore… but hopefully, one day, we get to go home. And then you’ll see the rain again, and I’ll see the snow.”

“Is that your favorite season? Winter?” Hunk asked.

“Yes,” Shiro said, smiling. “I really liked the snow when I was little… but my mother would always tell me I was going to get sick if I stayed outside too long…”

“Summer, for me,” Hunk said, “My grandma would always make my sister and me lunch and we’d spend all day outside… they’ll probably worried sick, assuming the Garrison didn’t just write us off as—” He cut off abruptly and shook his head.

“It’s okay,” Shiro told him, “I miss my mother too.”

Hunk seemed surprised by the statement, but after a moment, his gaze softened again, and he looked more at ease than he had since Shiro had arrived on the bridge. Still, there was an underlying concern there. “You’re always seem so calm… I don’t know how you manage it,” he said quietly. “Why are you even up in the first place?”

“I don’t know,” Shiro confessed, shrugging his shoulders. “I normally hit the training deck when I can’t sleep, but tonight I came up here.”

“This happens a lot?” Hunk asked, brow furrowing as his concern became more apparent.

Shiro was silent for a moment before he hesitantly nodded—it was difficult to admit that something was bothering him to the point of sleepless nights. They had more important things to worry about than him and his nightmares—Zarkon, and the threat he posed, for starters.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Hunk pressed, “You listened to me, so… so I’ll listen to you. We have each other’s backs right?”

Shiro felt unexpectedly touched by the gesture, so unused to being offered help. While he did momentarily consider rejecting Hunk’s offer, on the principle that it was his burden alone to bear, it felt wrong to do so. Being in Hunk’s presence had been relaxing, soothing even, and he had almost forgotten about his troubles for a moment.

His smile returned as he dipped his head. “Thank you,” he said, “I might take you up on that…”

They fell silent after that, watching light dance across the floor of the bridge, as solar flares sprung from the surface of the star.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com)  
> beta'd by: [Akumeoi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Akumeoi/pseuds/Akumeoi)
> 
> (we agreed that hunk is a summer person and shiro is a winter person :P)


	2. The Bay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this thing went through so many edits... but it's done now and that's what matters :)

Shiro sat opposite the Black Lion, leaning back against the wall of the lion’s docking bay. He hadn’t moved from his spot since earlier that morning, having come down long before anyone else was awake. The low, rumbling purr of his lion could be heard through their bond, as she tried to comfort her paladin—meanwhile, he tried to ignore the ache in his side from where had he had been hit with Druid magic only a couple of weeks prior.

The ache only started bothering him when he thought of what had happened at Zarkon’s central command.

Shiro had thought that the bond he had with his lion strong—he had felt the strength of their connection during the first trust exercise they had performed together—but evidently, he had been wrong. He hadn’t been strong enough to prevent Zarkon from taking over—severing the bond between him and Black, seemingly without much effort. They had nearly been killed when Voltron was torn apart. Because of that, Shiro hadn’t been able to get a decent night’s sleep in almost two weeks. He had been trying to keep it on the down low, so that none of the other Paladins or Allura and Coran would notice and worry about him.

Shiro liked to believe he had been successful in that endeavor—this was his burden to carry and no one else’s.

The sound of footsteps behind him caused him to flinch. He half-turned as his arm hummed with residual energy, illuminating the dimly lit docking bay with a faint purple glow. Hunk jumped at the sudden, aggressive movement, and he nearly dropped the plate he was carrying.

“Sorry,” Hunk said quickly, “I should have told you I was here—”

Shiro let out a slow breath, trying to calm himself. The adrenaline that had coursed through Shiro’s veins had immediately dissipated at the sight of Hunk—Shiro realized that he had overreacted… but in recent days, he had grown far more jumpy than he had previously been. The glow from his arm faded as he sat down again, leaning back against the wall. “It’s alright,” he said, running a hand over his face. “Did you need something, Hunk?”

Hunk motioned to the plate with a smile. “Well, you weren’t at breakfast,” he began explaining. “And then I asked Pidge and Keith, and they said they hadn’t seen you at _all_ today so—” He stopped abruptly and held out the plate for Shiro to take.

Shiro hesitated. On the plate in Hunk’s hands was something that looked vaguely like scrambled eggs, except they were purple and white marbled together. The food didn’t look _totally_ inedible, even if it was suspiciously Altean. It certainly looked better than many of the dishes that Coran had made as a ‘Paladin Lunch’.

“What is it?” Shiro finally asked.

“Don’t worry, I made breakfast this morning!” Hunk said, “They’re palatable, I promise. Lance said they’re the best eggs he’s ever had—well, ‘egg things’ is what he said exactly but—”

Shiro thanked him quietly, taking the plate. He didn’t begin eating immediately, however—he lacked much of an appetite, even if he did appreciate the effort that Hunk had gone to in order to make sure he was eating properly. He also hadn’t expected Hunk to continue standing there. The other paladin shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, but didn’t state why he was lingering. Shiro stayed silent as well, poking at the food with an Altean utensil whose closest human equivalent was _probably_ a fork.

After what felt like a varga, Hunk finally cleared his throat in an attempt to get Shiro’s attention. “What’s wrong?” he asked, “Something is bothering you and—and it’s worrying me—the rest of us.”

“It’s… nothing—” Shiro began.

“Shiro,” Hunk said. His voice was terse, and it was meant as a warning… but when Shiro met Hunk’s gaze again, he didn’t look _angry_ so much as _worried_ and _upset_. Hunk’s brows furrowed as he continued, “We just want to help you, Shiro… you don’t have to deal with whatever it is that’s bothering you alone.”

Shiro sighed, feeling guilt settle in the pit of his stomach. Hunk had often come to Shiro with his problems, and had stated that he would be more than happy to return to the favor later down the line, should Shiro need it. But this was supposed to be his burden to bear—or at least, he had thought that was how it should work. However, he had neglected to consider the effect keeping it to himself would have on his teammates. Shiro also didn’t like worrying his teammates and he should have considered that his problems affected the entire team.

So perhaps he needed to talk about it now… before something even worse came to pass.

“My bond with my lion isn’t strong enough,” Shiro admitted.

Hunk seemed surprised by that, eyes widening. “Why do you say that?”

“You saw what happened at Zarkon’s central command,” Shiro said. While the ache in his side had previously dulled, it now flared up again as he remembered how Voltron had frozen up, only to be split apart by force—he remembered how the Black Lion had begun ignoring his commands entirely…

“But _you’re_ the Black Paladin now, _not_ Zarkon,” Hunk said, shaking his head. “Why does it matter if he had a bond with the Black Lion in the past?”

“Because, if we go up against him again, there’s no guarantee that what happened before won’t happen again—” Shiro cut off with a hiss, gritting his teeth before he could start rambling. Lightly, he worked his fingers against his ribs, where the pain still lingered. Even if it was a phantom pain, the flare up at his side still _hurt_ , and it was impossible to ignore in that moment.

“Are you alright?” Hunk asked, kneeling down beside him. “Here, move your hand—”

“It’s just a phantom pain,” Shiro said, even as he lifted his arm and removed his hand to the side. “I get them all the time in my arm…”

Hunk frowned as he lightly rested his hand against the side of Shiro’s under-suit—removing the suit so that Hunk could actually inspect the lingering scars there would take too much effort. Hunk’s hand only stayed there for a moment, but he sat back again when Shiro shifted awkwardly. The touch was comforting nonetheless, and Shiro felt the pain ebb somewhat.

Hunk still looked concerned, though.

“When did it start?” Hunk asked.

“It was after… after I was hit in the side at central command,” Shiro said, “It just flares up from time to time—the pain is manageable usually… I’m _fine_ , Hunk… _really_.”

Hunk seemed relieved by that, at least. “What happened at central command isn’t your fault, you know…” he said, after a moment. “Didn’t Allura once say that the bond between a lion and its paladin can’t be forced?”

“Yeah, well… after all of that, I don’t think Black likes me very much,” Shiro retorted.

“Well, if she didn’t like you, she wouldn’t have given you a chance in the first place,” Hunk pointed out, offering a reassuring smile. “Besides, we’ve only been paladins for a couple of months—there seems to be a pretty steep learning curve when it comes to this kind of stuff. Just because you failed to maintain your bond with Black _once_ doesn’t make you a failure as a paladin…”

Shiro was silent for a couple of moments before he nodded and began eating the food that Hunk had brought him—his appetite wasn’t that much improved, but hearing support _had_ helped… to an extent at least. “Thank you, Hunk,” he said sincerely, “For both the food and the pep talk.”

Hunk gave Shiro’s arm a friendly nudge. “Anytime, Shiro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com)  
> beta’d by: [Akumeoi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Akumeoi)


End file.
